1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image-data generation method and an image-data generation apparatus which edit image data prepared for printing and generate image data for a printer that prints out an image on a sheet of paper smaller in size than a sheet of printing paper. The present invention also relates to a storage medium of storing an image-data generation program that causes an arithmetic apparatus to operate as the image-data generation apparatus when executed in the arithmetic apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a multiple number of books are produced in earnest, there is adopted a process in which images for plural pages laid out on a sheet of large-size paper are printed, this sheet of paper is folded to form a signature, plural signatures according to the number of pages of the book are stacked, and the edges of those signatures are cut and thereby the signatures are bound for bookbinding.
Here, a presswork in making books is efficient for printing on multiple large-size sheets of paper. However, large-scaled preparations such as preparing and setting a printing plate in a press and the press is adjusted for the images are required before starting printing. In the past, it was necessary to produce a plate-making film in the presswork. In late years however, a technique of so-called CTP (Computer to Plots) for directly making a printing plate without producing the plate-making film has advanced. Nevertheless, the presswork is still a process that takes great manpower and a long time for preparations. Meanwhile, there is a demand to start full-scale production of multiple books after making a sample of the book and then checking the thickness, touching and the like of the sample.
In order to meet this demand, it has been conceived to produce a book serving as a sample and called a dummy, by printing out images of the respective pages of the book with a printer capable of performing printout more easily than the press and then by performing binding, before full-scale printing using the press is carried out. To realize this, it is necessary to generate image data laid out for output with the printer (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-4912).
FIG. 1 is a diagram that illustrates an example of a method of generating image data laid out for output with a printer.
Here, CTP-use layout setting information (JDF: Job Definition Format) and original input data that is image data described in PDL (Page Description Language) are input into a RIP (Raster Image Processor), and thereby CTP-use image data in TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) laid out on a sheet of large-size paper for printing is generated. The technique of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-4912 adopts a process to convert this CTP-use image data in TIFF into image data laid out for a printer.
In this way, a dummy in which an image is printed on each page is produced by generating the image data laid out for the printer, printing out images based on the image data, and performing bookbinding. Since the printer is used, this dummy is made in a much easier way than when the press is used.